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The mystery of Canada’s men’s hockey team is almost over

It is crunch time for general manager Sean Burke and the rest of the brain trust at Hockey Canada as they prepare to unveil the team that will defend gold at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang South Korea.

Burke is expected to announce the team on Thursday. And at this point, there is only one thing he’s willing to concede: The 2018 version will not be able to roll four dominating lines they way the NHL-loaded 2014 team did.

Former Leafs forward Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau, centre, helped Canada to a title at the Spengler Cup, one of five tournaments the national team used to evaluate players. (Gian Ehrenzeller / The Associated Press)

“It would be unrealistic to say we would be able to go out and throw four very highly skilled lines and, as a team, just go out and run ’em over,” Burke said. “That’s not how we’re going to be made up. It’s not the makeup of the players that are available.

“We have speed, we have skill, but our team is going to based around being a harder team to play against. More role players. We want our team to be quick. I think we can do that.”

Former Leafs such as goalie Ben Scrivens, forwards Matt Frattin, Brandon Kozun, P.A. Parenteau, Mason Raymond, Jay McClement and Nick Spaling, and defencemen Carlo Colaiacovo and Jesse Blacker have been with the national team for at least one of five pre-Olympic tournaments. In all, 49 forwards, 27 defencemen and four goalies have suited up for the national team since August.

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Canada won the most recent tournament, the Spengler Cup, with a team that had an influx of players from the AHL and colleges. Canada beat Switzerland in the final. Those were the only two national teams to participate, with four European club teams also involved.

In earlier tournaments, using largely European-based and KHL-based players:

Canada went 1-2-0 at the Moscow-based Channel One Cup in December, beating only South Korea while losing to the Czechs and the Russians.

Canada went 1-2-0 at the Helsinki-based Karjala Cup in November, beating Switzerland but losing to Finland and Sweden.

Canada went 2-1-0 at the Sochi Hockey Open in August, beating a couple of KHL club teams, but losing to the Russian national team.

Canada went 2-1-0 at the Tournament of Nikolai Puchkov in St. Petersburg in August, against exclusively KHL club teams.

“We used every event to evaluate,” Burke said. “We never really got to the point where we had 80 per cent or 90 per cent of our roster. We wanted to take it right to the very end, give as many players as possible a chance to compete for spots.”

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Canada’s men’s team opens its Olympic tournament against Switzerland on Feb. 15, at 7:10 a.m. ET, followed by games against the Czechs on Feb. 16 at 10:10 p.m. ET and host country South Korea on Feb. 18 at 7:10 a.m. ET. All games are on CBC.

Twelve countries are divided into three groups. Canada gets the Czechs, Swiss and the host South Koreans in Group A. Russia, the U.S., Slovakia and Slovenia form Group B. Sweden, Finland, Norway and Germany are in Group C. The top four teams — the three group winners and next best based on points — receive a bye to the quarter-finals. The other eight play a one-game elimination round to reach the quarter-finals.

With no NHL participation, and the Russians playing under the Olympic flag due to a doping scandal, the men’s portion of the hockey tournament will be a hard one to handicap.

“You have to approach it with an open mind,” Burke said. “If you’re a hockey fan, trying to handicap it, it’s really difficult. I think that’s a good thing. Because if you’re a hockey fan, I think you’re going to enjoy the Olympics because it’s very competitive. And there’s going to be a number of countries that feel they have a chance to win a medal.”

But, just like 2014 and 2010 before, one thing regarding the reigning gold medallists remains constant.

OPTIMUS REIM: Former Leafs goalie James Reimer has thrived in Florida with Roberto Luongo out of the lineup. Reimer is 7-5-2 in the 14 games since Luongo got hurt, posting a .930 save percentage (fourth-best in the league) and 2.42 goals-against average (sixth-best) during that span. Luongo is expected to return to duty in early February, but “that could change any day,” Panthers coach Bob Boughner said. “We’re sort of taking it day by day.”

BYE BRUINS: The Boston Bruins headed into their bye week on an 8-0-3 streak. They’re neck and neck with the Leafs for second in the Atlantic Division, having overcome a 6-7-4 start and first-half injuries to key players like David Krejci (18 games), David Backes (17), Brad Marchand (eight) and Patrice Bergeron (five). “We really came together the last month-and-a-half and showed the type of team we can be,” Marchand said. “We had a lot of growing pains early on, and some injuries. I think we kind of expected that to be the case ― not so much the injury bug, but a lot of young guys and new guys on the team. You need time to come together. We’ve really done that.”

MERRY JANUARY: Penguins captain Sidney Crosby isn’t complaining about a vacation, but he noted the Penguins’ break this season comes just a few weeks after the team had three days off for Christmas. “You don’t necessarily need it this soon, but it is what it is,” Crosby said. “We have a big stretch coming up after that. To get rest knowing what’s ahead, it’s not going to hurt us. That’s something we can take advantage of.” After the break, the Penguins will play seven games in 13 days, including a three-game West Coast swing, before having three more days off for the all-star break at the end of the month.

LIGHTNING STRIKE: After a season in which everything seemed to go wrong for the Tampa Bay Lightningeverything seems to be going right this year. The Lightning are 31-9-3, in first place in the Eastern Conference by a comfortable margin. No.1 goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy is a Vezina Trophy favourite. Nikita Kucherov leads the league in scoring and is tied for the lead in goals. Steven Stamkos has enjoyed a bounce-back season. But the team isn’t taking anything for granted. “We can sit here and say, ‘Yeah, if the playoff started today, we’re in,’ ” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “But you’ve got to be battle-ready when that comes. And I’m not so sure we’re there right yet.”

FILLING SEATS: Beginning with the Panthers’ game on Jan. 25 against the Capitals, Florida is offering $5 beers for every Thursday home game the rest of the season . . . The expansion Golden Knights announced an initiative to sell tickets to college students at a discount.

STATS PACK: The Columbus Blue Jackets lead the NHL with 11 wins beyond regulation, six in overtime, five in the shootout . . . The Golden Knights are 14-1-1 in their last 16 contests . . . The Capitals’ 10-game home win streak is the longest in the NHL this season . . . Alex Ovechkin (27 goals) should become the third player in NHL history to reach the 30-goal mark in each of his first 13 NHL seasons, joining Mike Gartner (15 seasons) and Wayne Gretzky (13 seasons).

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